We made it, everyone.

Your fantasy season is now irrevocably underway.

Shockingly, Javonte Williams got the scoring started on Thursday night, punching in a short-yardage TD through a gap that should have been filled by Jalen Carter had the Eagles defensive tackle not expectorated himself out of the game. Truly, it was a flawless opening sequence. Never change, NFL.

Williams made a strong opening statement in his Cowboys debut, gaining 64 yards on 17 touches and reaching the end zone twice. He ran hard, if not efficiently, against a compromised Philadelphia defense. It may not have been pre-injury Williams, but he was much friskier than the 2024 edition. Javonte elevated his fantasy profile more than any other skill player attached to Thursday’s game. He’ll rank among the RB2s next week against the Giants.

If you rolled out A.J. Brown against Dallas on opening night … well, unfortunately, that horrible matchup projection slider on your league’s homepage has shifted into the red. Brown finished with one catch, a target, 8 yards and minimal screen time. Alas. Your squad’s win probability is not looking great at the moment.

There’s no reason to panic with Brown, of course. No Eagles wide receiver caught more than three passes on a night when the team relied on the legs of Saquon Barkley (60 yards, TD) and Jalen Hurts (62 yards, 2 TD).

Also, let’s not abandon all hope of winning those opening week matchups with only a single game in the books. Surely you have come back from situations more dire than this.

I’m not normally a manifest-it-into-existence sort of person, but I’m willing to try it for fantasy and/or editorial purposes. On behalf of AJB managers everywhere: We concede nothing. We’re still coming for this opening week win.

While we’re dabbling in the power of manifestation, here are six additional things we’d love to see in the NFL in 2025.

Calves of steel for Christian McCaffrey

After a spotless offseason with no health concerns whatsoever, McCaffrey’s name popped up in Thursday’s news feed. Uh-oh. He was officially limited in practice with a calf issue.

We’d all love to believe this is merely a drill — a precautionary light day for a veteran player experiencing mild discomfort. But the last time McCaffrey dealt with minor calf soreness, he missed half the season and traveled to Munich for mystery treatments. Any injury note attached to CMC is a screaming alarm.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan is scheduled to speak with reporters on Friday, but he lies about player injuries with stunning ease. He is certainly not to be trusted on McCaffrey’s calves. We went down this same road last September.

We can only attempt to manifest good health and functional legs for our first-round pick. It was always gonna go this way with CMC. We will need to track this situation until the Niners and Seahawks kick off on Sunday.

Matthew Golden, please restore order to Green Bay’s receiving room

It’s been severely lacking since Davante Adams left town. Golden has been a constant story throughout the summer, one of the league’s buzziest rookies, featured in countless camp highlights. He spent basically every day in August roasting teammates and opponents alike.

If Golden is to emerge as the unrivaled No. 1 receiver for the Packers, it should be almost immediately apparent in the season opener against Detroit. Jayden Reed is managing a Jones fracture in his left foot, Dontayvion Wicks has been limited by a calf injury this week, and Christian Watson is currently on the PUP list, continuing his recovery from ACL surgery. Golden is one of the few healthy humans in this team’s receiving corps, and possibly its most talented. The path to extreme fantasy value is clear. Let’s lock in, rookie.

(Look, the Bears fan in me obviously disavows and repudiates the previous two paragraphs. However, the fantasy manager in me is, um … conflicted.)

Trevor Lawrence, dual-threat quarterback

You may have forgotten about the Clemson version of Lawrence, which is understandable. That was many years ago. To date, Jacksonville has failed to unlock Lawrence’s ability to stress defenses as a ball-carrier.

Here’s a quick reminder of the rushing talent that made him such an unsolvable problem at the college level:

TREVOR LAWRENCE TURNS ON THE BURNERS #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/x5FrKRjYqt

— ESPN (@espn) December 29, 2019

The list of current NFL quarterbacks capable of making that play against a quality defense is not long. Realistically, it’s probably only six guys, plus Lawrence.

We no longer think of him as a serious rushing threat because Jaguars coaches have never asked him to utilize his full skill set. Head coach Liam Coen might just be different, however. At various points this summer, Coen has openly and enthusiastically discussed Lawrence’s wheels.

Maybe it was just lip service, like so many other empty training camp promises. But if Coen is serious about removing the restrictor plates, Lawrence’s fantasy ceiling could be much higher than anyone anticipates. Here’s hoping manifesting that we see six or more rush attempts in the opener against Carolina.

Daniel Jones turns back the clock to 2022

We certainly do not need to see last year’s Jones, nor the prior year’s Jones, because that guy did not pay the fantasy bills.

Over the past two seasons, Jones has thrown more interceptions (13) than touchdown passes (10) while averaging only 186.2 yards per game. He also fumbled eight times and took 59 sacks. Not great.

Jones does not exactly have a rich history of supporting viable fantasy receivers, but he was at his best three seasons ago, finishing as the overall QB9 despite working with the sketchiest imaginable group of pass-catchers (Darius Slayton, Richie James, Isaiah Hodgins, et al). This year, the fantasy community is relying on him to feed Tyler Warren — America’s favorite sleeper tight end — as well as Josh Downs, Michael Pittman and breakout candidate Adonai Mitchell.

Seems like a tall order for a guy who’s never actually produced an 800-yard receiver. (Malik Nabers definitely would have cleared that mark with Jones, but Danny Dimes was demoted 10 games into the 2024 season.) No one expects Jones to completely reinvent himself in the year ahead, but we will need him to at least achieve bland mediocrity. If he faceplants, so will every Colts receiver.

Matthew Stafford starts (and finishes) all 17 games

This one truly feels like a desperate wish written on my last scrap of paper, stuffed in a bottle, then tossed into a raging ocean.

Stafford has dealt with a medley of injuries in recent seasons, the most worrisome of which is the persistent back issue. The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue has already told us the back “is going to be a thing” through the entire season.

Let’s lock in, Rams training staff. This team’s offense is simply too big to fail. We can’t have it. If Stafford is sidelined, it’s a significant step down to Jimmy Garoppolo or Stetson Bennett. Hopefully, we will never have to learn what the Jimmy-to-Puka connection looks like. We’ve already seen Jimmy-to-Davante and — to say the very least — it’s problematic. Don’t need to experience that ever again.

All known kicking distance records are obliterated

Cam Little already showcased his weapons-grade right leg last month, drilling a 70-yard field goal against the Steelers. We need to see it happen in the regular season, soon.

Little might not even be our best candidate, which is wild. Brandon Aubrey can absolutely push the mark into the 70s, thus erasing Justin Tucker (66) from the record book.

It’s time. All it takes is one courageous head coach. It’s what we need to finally drive the #bankickers movement back into the shadows.

(Photo of Javonte Williams: Bill Streicher / Imagn Images)